Devil's Gate
by Aini NuFire
Summary: Apocalypse Wars, Episode 2 - Gabriel's rebel garrison plans to attempt closing the Hell portal to prevent Lucifer's rising. Meanwhile, the Winchesters are faced with an unknown intruder at Camp Chitaqua that has the ability to jump bodies.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Next installment! This one's got four chapters. And check out 29-pieces-of-me on deviantart for an awesome sketch of Gabriel and his grace animal.**

* * *

THEN

 _Castiel's days were reduced to the relentless pursuit of demons. It was a lonely, exhausting existence, for no matter how many fiends of Hell he slew, the world around him continued to fall apart. He wondered where Dean and Sam were now, whether the man he'd rescued from Hell and the hunter's brother were even still alive._

 _A horde of demons found him. Castiel fought, but they were too many. Smoky vipers snapped and bit at his grace while horned beasts wielded weapons made of igneous brimstone against his flesh and bone. Castiel fell._

 _Yet before he could be dealt a killing blow, a flash of golden light erupted with a strident bird screech. A massive wingspan burst out over the demons, a great eagle rearing back with another shriek. It tore the demons apart, and Castiel could only gape in frozen stupefaction._

 _The rippling golden aura receded into human form, slightly short for his formidable stature, sweeping hair as golden brown as his grace animal._

 _"Gabriel?" Castiel whispered._

 _The presumed-dead archangel cocked a devil-may-care grin at him. "Hey, bro."_

 _…_

 _The Impala slowly rumbled to a stop at the edge of the campgrounds the Winchesters had just come across. They'd been avoiding the main roads, trying to stay under the radar as they traversed an area more and more overrun with demons every day. This place appeared abandoned, but not decrepit._

 _The brothers exchanged a look, then glanced back at the caravan of other vehicles they'd started picking up—survivors who had nowhere else to go. None of them did. Trying to get to one of the cities on the east or west coasts that were still standing was treacherous, and from what they'd heard, those places were so heavily guarded that not even refugees were allowed inside anymore. No, out here in the Mid-west, they were on their own. And if Dean and Sam were going to have any chance of keeping these terrified people alive, they'd have to stop being on the run._

 _"What do you think?" Dean asked._

 _Sam shrugged. "We can make it work."_

 _Dean took a deep breath, and pressed the gas to lead their convoy into their new home._

 _Camp Chitaqua._

 _…_

 _"You're leading a rebel garrison?" Castiel asked incredulously as Gabriel tended his wounds._

 _"Hard to believe, I know."_

 _"We all thought you were dead."_

 _Gabriel's expression darkened. "That's a long story. The relevant stuff right now is I'm not gonna stand by any longer and let my dickhead older brothers destroy the rest of my family. I've been saving who I can, asking them to join me in the fight, on_ our _side, not the corruption Michael's made Heaven into. Anna was the first, and there have been others." Gabriel's mien softened. "She never gave up hope that we'd find you."_

 _Castiel's eyes widened. "Anna's alive?"_

 _"Yeah." Gabriel placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder. "So, little brother, want to join the resistance?"_

 _…_

NOW

Castiel threw an arm up to block a punch and swung with his other to deliver his own blow. It was deflected with a similar move. Now both their arms were locked, yet before Castiel could break away, his opponent hooked a leg around his and kicked his feet out from under him. He landed on his back with her bearing down on top of him.

"You always fall for that," an unwanted commentator spoke up from the sidelines.

"Like you don't," Castiel grunted at Balthazar before he bucked and managed to reverse his position, with him rolling on top of Anna.

But in the maneuver, she'd slipped her knee up between them and then kicked Castiel square in the chest, sending him flying backward to hit the mat. He rolled with the momentum, regaining his feet in one fluid movement. Anna pushed herself up as well, and the match reset with them circling each other.

They engaged again, Anna striking with a roundhouse kick. Castiel caught her leg and twisted it at the knee joint; she lost her balance and threw her hands down to catch herself on the mat. But then she dropped forward into a somersault, extricating her leg from Castiel's grip.

He was about to move in after her when the front doors in the outer room banged open with a resounding clang. Castiel and Anna exchanged a quick look before abandoning the sparring session and heading for the entryway that led to the main war room of their underground compound, Balthazar right behind them.

It was Inias and Hester who had burst in so harried, and Castiel instinctively tensed at the looks of horror on their faces. Their gazes swept frantically over the angels gathering at the commotion until they spotted Gabriel coming in from one of the other rooms.

"Gabriel," Inias blurted. "It's the Devil's Gate."

The archangel, normally so debonair and cocky, blanched for a split second. "Lucifer can't be here already."

Inias quickly shook his head. "No. But the older and fouler demons from the depths of Hell are beginning to come through the portal. We just saw a morvath demon pass through."

Castiel stiffened. One of those was large enough to trample a small house.

"Lucifer won't be far behind," Hester added. "And once he's here, it's over. Our mission, our fight. I doubt even this pocket dimension will protect us forever."

The cohort fell silent at the pronouncement, though contrary to Hester's dire declaration, Castiel believed they would be safe inside the pocket dimension Gabriel had established their base to keep them off Heaven's radar. But they couldn't just hide here while the rest of the planet was destroyed.

"We have to close the Gate," Anna spoke up.

Gabriel threw her a wry look; this wasn't the first time she had suggested it.

Hester scoffed, voicing the worn-out argument, "How? The area is overrun with demons. We can't get close enough, and certainly not long enough to actually do anything to the portal."

"We have to try!"

Castiel put a gentle hand on Anna's elbow. He knew why she felt so passionate about this; he wasn't opposed to the goal, either. But Hester's points were valid.

Gabriel shook his head. "I won't engage in a suicide mission."

"If we do nothing, we will all die eventually," Anna pressed. "Killing demons here and there will mean nothing if Lucifer rises."

"The amount of power we'll need to attempt closing the portal will take time to channel. Hester's right, we'll be overwhelmed within minutes," Gabriel said with a harder edge in his tone. He took a step forward into the center of their group, turning slightly to address them all. "I would gladly sacrifice myself to stop all this if we were guaranteed it would work. But we're not, and I will _not_ throw away any of your lives on a long shot. Not like this."

Some of the sharpness bled away from his expression, and Castiel's heart ached at the chink in Gabriel's armor; he was a leader worthy of their loyalty, but he was also an older brother trying desperately to save the scant remnants of his family in a losing battle.

"We would have to find a way to clear the area of demons," Castiel interjected. "Perhaps a diversion of some kind."

Hester let out a disparaging snort. "More would just come through the portal."

Castiel huffed in exasperation; her pessimism was not conducive to problem-solving.

Balthazar cleared his throat. "Not if we blow them all up."

Castiel and the others all turned to look at the angel who normally stayed quiet during strategic planning sessions.

He gave them all a blasé look in return. "That nuke Zachariah was planning to use on the demons in one of the human cities. We should use it on the portal."

Castiel's jaw slackened. "You _kept_ it?"

Balthazar shrugged. "You never know when incendiary devices might come in handy."

"Would that work?" Inias asked excitedly.

Castiel shook his head in protest. "We can't use the nuclear device; it will kill all the humans still in the vicinity and make the area uninhabitable for miles. That's why we had to stop Zachariah from using it in the first place."

"It might be worth it, to stop the Apocalypse," someone pointed out.

"True," Balthazar said glibly. "But I was thinking why not go for the gold—we smuggle the bomb into Hell and detonate it on that side. It would wipe out legions of demons, and maybe even collapse the portal. But that would give us the time needed on this side to finish the job."

"Smuggle it into Hell?" Anna repeated dubiously, but already her eyes were sparking with interest.

"Castiel got in once," Balthazar went on. "When he made that incursion to rescue Dean Winchester."

Castiel's brows rose in dismay. Yes, he had done that…but he'd been properly chastised for the recklessness of it afterward. When he looked at Gabriel to see what their leader thought, he found the archangel's mouth pressed into a pensive line. After several long moments of silence, Gabriel lifted his gaze to Castiel's.

"You've been inside the portal. Do you think it's possible?"

Castiel suddenly felt self-conscious as all eyes turned toward him, as though the final decision would be weighed upon his input, their lives in his hands if he declared this crazy idea possible. Most of the other angels looked grim or nervous; Balthazar and Anna were gazing at him expectantly. And if he confirmed what they were all hoping, he knew it would fall to him, the one who had braved the bowels of Hell once, to do it again.

He swallowed. "Yes."

A ripple of anxious anticipation started to suffuse through the crowd. It was dangerous, but any plan to close the Devil's Gate would be. Yet it was the closest shot they'd had since the Apocalypse started to actually make a dent in it.

Gabriel, however, did not look as eager as some of the others, and nodded sagely. "Do you know how to arm the bomb?"

"Yes. The Winchesters told me how they disarmed it in the first place." It would not be difficult to activate the device again. "And there's a timer."

"I'll go with you," Anna immediately volunteered.

Castiel was warmed by the offer. "The others will need you. I can get in and out."

"No," Gabriel countered. "I want you to have backup. The rest of us will cover your exit on Earth's side of the portal." He drew his shoulders back, the stout leader once again coming to the forefront. "I'll call the others back. We'll leave in an hour."

With that, he turned to head off and make the final preparations.

"See?" Balthazar said. "I have my moments of brilliance."

"Since it was your brilliant idea," Anna replied, "you're coming with us."

Balthazar's smug mien faltered. "Fine," he let out with a dramatic sigh. "Someone has to operate the device, and I have a little more experience after tinkering with it."

Castiel straightened in alarm. "You _tinkered_ with it? What if you had set it off!"

"Relax, I was in a controlled environment."

"Does it even still work?" Anna rejoined.

Balthazar scowled. "Of course it does. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go retrieve our little care package." He disappeared with a small zip into the ether.

Castiel's jaw tightened. He hoped they weren't getting in over their heads.

* * *

Dean swung the ax down and deftly cleaved the chunk of wood in two. An echoing split and thwack followed close behind as Sam's hatchet buried itself in his own base stump. It took a couple of tries to wriggle it loose. Chopping firewood was quite the workout, but at least they got something useful out of it.

Dean wrenched his ax free and set another block of wood on his stump. Another swing, another piece hewn apart. Only this time when Dean looked up, there was suddenly a figure dressed in dark clothes standing at the fence line across the open field. He frowned; usually when Cas showed up it was in a supply truck at the gate.

He set the ax down and pulled his work gloves off. Sam quirked a confused look at him, but after following his gaze to the angel, he set aside his tools as well, and the two of them made their way across the grounds.

"Hey, Cas," Dean called out. "What's up? You don't want to come in?" Camp Chitaqua may have been warded against most angels, but there were inscriptions that allowed a choice few admittance.

"I can't stay long," Cas replied, sounding a bit more grave than usual. "My garrison is planning to move against the Devil's Gate. With any luck, we'll be able to close it and stop the entire Apocalypse."

Dean's brows shot upward incredulously.

"What, really?" Sam blurted.

Cas nodded sagely.

Dean furrowed his brow. "Wait, how exactly? I thought you said that thing was too powerful."

Cas shifted his weight. "A small contingent is going to take that nuclear device we stole from Zachariah through the portal and detonate it on the other side."

Dean's jaw slackened in dismay. _What?_

"You're going to _nuke_ Hell?" Sam sputtered.

"Yes. Hopefully the blast will be enough to weaken the portal, and then the angels on this side will attempt to close it the rest of the way," Cas explained.

Dean narrowed his eyes suddenly. "You're part of that contingent going through, aren't you?"

The angel hesitated only a moment before admitting, "Yes."

Dean's stomach clenched with haunted memories of the Devil's Gate, the hordes of demons swarming the place, the blood and death, and then what was on the other side…it was enough to make a cold sweat break out on his skin under the mid-day sun.

Sam's expression pinched. "Sounds dangerous," he said carefully.

"Very. But we have a real chance, and I would willingly give my life if it meant saving the world so you all would be safe."

Dean swallowed hard. "I know you would," he said softly. "But try not to, okay?"

Cas gave him a sympathetic look. "I'll try."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Sam asked.

"No," Cas replied. "I just came to let you know where I was going, in case…" He trailed off as a morose pall fell over them.

Dean tried to shake it off by adopting an air of bravado he didn't quite genuinely feel. "Hey, you've got this in the bag. I mean, you already infiltrated Hell once to get me out, right from under a bunch of demons' noses."

Cas's mouth turned upward in an attempt at a smile. "Exactly. You don't need to worry."

Dean exchanged a look with Sam. Yeah, right.

"Well, good luck," Sam offered.

Cas nodded, and Dean opened his mouth to say something else, but the angel had already disappeared into the ether.

"Be careful," Dean muttered to the empty space Cas had been. _And come back_.

"He said his whole garrison is going," Sam spoke up tentatively. "That's a lot of firepower. When he got you out of Hell, he was alone, so I'm sure he'll be fine now."

"Yeah," Dean murmured. And if they did succeed in closing the portal and the Apocalypse was averted…well, the world would never be the same, but they could start to rebuild. And there'd always be jobs for him and Sam to hunt down those demons still topside.

But Dean was used to being a man of action, and suddenly chopping firewood seemed like the most trivial thing he could be doing right now when his best friend was out trying to save them all.

He started trudging back to his mundane work when the sentry at the gate called out to him and Sam. They immediately veered that way instead. As he and Sam approached the gate, Dean caught sight of two figures standing on the other side. His worry from a minute before was momentarily forgotten when he finally recognized them, and he burst into a beaming grin.

"It's alright, guys," Dean said to the men on guard duty, waving off their defensive stances.

The two women standing at the gate broke into wide smiles in return.

"Damn, it's good to see you boys," Ellen said, spreading her arms for Dean to walk right into a hug. She squeezed him hard.

"You too," Sam gushed, getting a fervent embrace next.

Dean turned to Jo, unable to keep his mouth from quirking. Even covered in dried mud and her blonde hair greasy, she still looked hot. She shot him a wry grin and moved in to give him a cheeky side hug.

"So what is this place? You got a little harem set up or something?" Jo joked.

Dean smirked. While there were some women at the camp whom Dean occasionally _fraternized_ with, he wasn't attached to anyone. "You worried about competition?"

She snorted. "Hardly."

Dean just shook his head and swept an arm out toward the faded sign half covered behind overgrown bushes. "Welcome to Camp Chitaqua. It's not much, and the food may not be great, but at least we aren't the ones on the menu."

"Looks like the Four Seasons to me," Ellen said.

The four of them started up the path toward the cabins, but Jo suddenly swayed, and Dean lashed out to catch her.

"Whoa, hey," he said, eyeing her worriedly. "You okay?"

Jo sagged against him. "Yeah, sorry. Just got a little lightheaded there."

Ellen moved in to her daughter's other side, jovial expression quickly replaced with grimness. "It's been a long journey," she said ominously.

Yeah, Dean could imagine. The world outside this camp wasn't exactly hospitable to humans.

"You're safe here now," Sam assured them. "We'll get you some food and a warm place to sleep for the night."

Both women nodded gratefully, and they resumed walking, albeit at a slower pace.

"So where have you been?" Dean asked, still reeling from the thrill of seeing them alive. He and Sam hadn't been able to find out what happened to the Harvelles after the Apocalypse had started.

"Constantly on the move and staying one step ahead of those ugly-ass demons," Ellen replied. "We recently heard a rumor about an encampment set up by a couple of hunters, thought we'd check it out." She flashed them a proud grin. "Shoulda known it'd be you boys."

"Bobby's here too," Sam happily informed her.

Ellen paused for a split second as obvious relief settled over her features. "Well, today just keeps getting better. We'd made it to Sioux Falls, but the place was destroyed. We thought maybe…" She shook her head. "Of course Singer is too much of a hard-ass to let a couple of demons get him."

Dean and Sam instantly sobered and glanced at each other.

"Um, yeah, about Bobby…" Sam started, but before he could finish, one of the cabin's screen doors up ahead banged open and the speak-of-the-devil wheeled out onto the porch.

Ellen pulled up short, and Dean winced at the obvious reaction. He'd hoped to prepare her first.

"What happened?" she whispered, even though they were still several yards from the cabin.

"Demon attack," Sam quickly answered. "Not the one at his house. After. He got thrown out a window."

Dean's gut clenched at the memory of seeing his surrogate father crashing through the second story window. Bobby had only been hit because he'd intercepted a demon running for Dean. They'd been lucky there was still a working hospital in the area at the time, but the doctors hadn't been able to do anything about Bobby's legs. Going on the run with a man stuck in a wheelchair hadn't exactly been easy after that. Finding Camp Chitaqua had been a blessing in many ways, including giving Bobby a place to rest, and to start finding ways to be productive again. Dean actually considered Bobby the leader of the encampment, not himself. He couldn't figure out why no one else seemed to agree with him, though.

"Are you done gawking at the paraplegic?" Bobby yelled at them. "Or are you gonna get your asses up here and say a proper hello?"

Ellen snorted. "Nice to see he's still his charming self."

Dean and Sam ducked their gazes, and started moving again. Jo leaned into Dean, not quite out of physical exhaustion, and he slipped a comforting arm around her waist. Two friends they'd feared lost had been found. It gave Dean hope for that one wayward star out there about to brave a black hole.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part II**

Castiel crouched down at the ridge of the crater where the Devil's Gate was located. The rift in dimensional space simmered with fulvous edges at the bottom, pulsing every time a denizen of Hell passed between the planes. Which was quite frequent, as the bowl of the crater was crawling with low-level demon scavengers, hideous creatures no bigger than a small house pet, but with leather-hard hides and razor teeth like broken glass, and a bloodlust nothing could slake. They were also skittish, though, too afraid to venture far from their natural environment; thus their congregation near the portal.

"Ah," Balthazar said on Castiel's left, the nuclear device in his arms. "How exactly did you slip past them the first time?"

Castiel's jaw tightened. "There weren't so many then," he begrudgingly admitted. Perhaps this plan was not a good idea after all…

"We'll need a diversion," Anna said, ducked down on Castiel's other side.

"A diversion could draw the attention of larger demons," he pointed out.

The grass rustled as Gabriel drew back from the edge and stood. "I'll handle that part." He paused to give the three of them one last look. "Good luck." Then he vanished.

They waited, nothing but the cacophonous gurgle and munching of the creatures below to fill the silence. Then, several minutes later, Castiel saw something thin and dark zing through the air. One of the creatures squealed and plopped flat on the ground. The others around it whipped their attention toward the sound. The demon was already dead, a metal bolt protruding from its center. Castiel marveled at the crude use of a crossbow, but it was effective in its silence, unlike the automatic weapons humans favored.

The other demons erupted in a frenzy and swarmed over the carcass of their fellow demon to devour its flesh. Another bolt zipped through the air and struck a scavenger several yards away from the first, drawing the attention of the demons surrounding it. Soon most of the vulturine creatures were distracted by the blood of their dying brethren, and a narrow but clear path to the Gate was open.

Castiel rose swiftly and started down the slope, Balthazar and Anna hurrying behind him. They made straight for the portal, and Castiel braced himself for what unknown horrors might be just on the other side.

Passing through the rift sent sizzling prickles across his skin for a brief instant, and then Castiel was buffeted by a gust of sweltering heat and sulfur. The atmosphere of Hell was cloying with it, yellow-green and sickly chartreuse fumes broiling in the sky above, occasionally tinged with electric green lightning. The portal came out in a valley, sharp crags on either side rising darkly into the brume. In the far distance was a black tower, one of Hell's torture chambers for damned souls. In the opposite direction, great lava pits burped molten fire into the air, splattering prisoners tied to stakes. There was a constant chorus of wailing that echoed throughout every corner of the region. It was enough to almost suffocate an angel.

There was a small 'zzp' as Anna and Balthazar appeared behind him, both of them whipping their gazes around frantically. Fortunately, the immediate vicinity was clear. Traffic of demons out of Hell had slowed after the initial onslaught when the Gate first opened, and this side of the portal wasn't guarded, as no one expected anyone to make an incursion _into_ Hell.

Castiel turned toward the jagged rocks and quickly motioned for the others to follow. They darted inside a cleft that was close to the Gate but concealed from sight. Balthazar set the nuclear device on the ground and began punching buttons on the keypad to set the timer.

"One minute should be plenty of time," he said. He then reached into his pocket for the cell phone battery to power the timer.

"What is that sound?" Anna suddenly asked.

Castiel's eyes widened just as the high-pitched chitters reached his ears, but before he could give a warning, a swarm of winged lizards spilled over the edge of the cliff above and descended on them. He whipped his angel blade out and swiped at the first creature that zoomed past his face. Another swooped in from behind, raking razor sharp talons across his head. Castiel ducked with a wince and slashed his blade again. They were too fast and too many to be able to target, and thus he had to resort to haphazard strikes. Sometimes his blade met the resistance of flesh as it tore through sinew and one of the monsters would shriek in pain; other times he hit only air.

Anna and Balthazar were striking out more or less blindly as well as the reptilians flapped and swan dived around them. Tiny claws on stubby hands protruded from the wing joints, as well as talons on their hind feet. But their wide salamander mouths possessed three rows of teeth that snapped at anything and everything, even the angel blades striking at them. Castiel felt the vibration of choppers clamp around his blade as a lizard tried to wrench it out of his grip. He swung hard, smashing the creature into another one midair, and they both fell with a squawk.

But the three angels were overwhelmed by the swarm. Castiel's instincts flared with the urge to unleash his grace, but he held back. That would definitely draw attention, and they couldn't afford that, not before the weapon was even set to go off.

Yet just when it seemed they'd have no choice but to do that or retreat, the horde suddenly banked away, back through the fissure and up the cliffside, disappearing into the sulfurous brume. Castiel's chest heaved as he watched the sky for signs of their return, but it looked as though they were gone.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Balthazar spat.

"They're like the scavengers," Castiel replied, wincing at the sting of half a dozen scratches. "But the hive mentality makes them prone to abrupt changes when they swarm like that. The good news is they aren't intelligent enough to alert any higher demons to our presence. The bad news is they could come back at any time."

Anna ran a hand over her frazzled hair. "Let's finish this before they come back," she said to Balthazar.

He grumbled his agreement and started patting his jacket, then sweeping his gaze around. "Where did…ah." Balthazar started toward the battery, which had ended up on the ground during the fight.

Yet before he reached it, one of those lizards skittered out from behind a rock, wings folded down its back. It cocked beady eyes at the black box in front of it, and then lunged forward to snatch it up.

"No!" Balthazar dove for the creature, but it launched itself into the air, the battery between its claws.

Castiel and Anna made a leap to catch it, but the reptile veered sharply away from their grasps and began to ascend, trailing after the direction its flock had gone. Castiel flipped his angel blade around in his hand so he was holding the tip of the blade. Arching his arm back, he watched the creature climb higher, calculating his aim. Then he threw.

The blade whipped end over end through the air and landed tip first right in the lizard's gut, skewering it to the rock face. With a strained squeal, the body shuddered and then folded inward to hang limply…the battery still tucked securely between its curved claws.

Balthazar crossed his arms with a huff. "Nice shot. But now who's going to climb up there and get it?"

Anna rolled her eyes and strode to the scarp where she dug her fingers into a crevice and began to scale the cliffside.

"Always was an over-achiever," Balthazar uttered.

"I heard that."

He donned a cavalier grin and called more loudly, "It's quite becoming!"

"Shut up before you attract more of those things," Anna snapped back as she climbed higher, mindful of each place she set her feet.

"I doubt they find Balthazar all that attractive," Castiel said wryly.

Said angel pressed a hand over his heart. "Now that hurts my feelings. I've been told I have a rather charming personality."

Castiel snorted. "By what, a chipmunk?"

He arched a surprised brow. "Did you learn a sense of humor from your humans?"

Castiel clamped his mouth shut. Perhaps something of Sam and Dean's brotherly banter _had_ rubbed off on him…

Balthazar smirked. "I might approve of your friends after all."

Castiel had to resist the urge to roll his eyes; like he needed his brother's approval on that matter.

The dead lizard suddenly plopped on the ground at their feet.

"Heads up," Anna called, and Castiel looked up just as she tossed his angel blade down to him. He caught it deftly.

She then carefully turned herself around so her back was to the cliff face, and with intense concentration, jumped off. She landed on her feet like a cat, and stood up to hand Balthazar the battery.

"Now, can we please finish and get the hell out of Hell?"

Balthazar took the component with a grin. "As you wish."

* * *

"We've got three portable generators," Sam was saying as he gave Ellen a tour of the camp the following morning. "But we only keep one going 24/7 for the freezer. Other than that, we rely on LED lanterns at night and sun during the day."

Ellen stopped to lean an arm on a fence post. "I gotta say I'm impressed. But where the heck did you get all these supplies? Jo and I were barely scraping by when we passed through towns, and it's too dangerous trying to go far into the cities."

Sam couldn't help but grin. "We have a lot of help. From angels, actually."

Ellen shot him an incredulous look. "Angels? You mean those glowy bastards?"

"So you've met some."

Ellen shook her head. "Met, no. Jo and I watched them vaporize some demons in a small town. Of course, they vaporized the town, too." She looked away, haunted memory flickering through her eyes. "There were a lot of people there," she added softly.

Sam grimaced. "Uh, yeah. From what we've learned, most of the angels are really big on this whole Apocalypse battle, and they don't care who gets caught in the crossfire. But there's a small group who believe in protecting humanity. They bring us supplies, and even helped us fortify this place with warding to keep us hidden."

He knelt down to push aside some reeds by the fence post, revealing etchings carved into the wood in various symbols. "It's all over, some really powerful stuff, too."

Ellen made a thoughtful noise in the back of her throat. "Almost sounds too good to be true, if you ask me."

Sam could understand her trepidation, especially from a hunter's perspective, which was that anything not human was something to be hunted. But he knew they could change her mind. "We'll introduce you to Cas," he said. "You'll like him."

Sam hesitated, remembering their angel friend was currently on a dangerous mission. To think that any minute now, Cas could show up and tell them the Apocalypse was over. It wouldn't instantly fix everything, but it would be a start.

Sam just hoped he was okay.

Ellen was studying the warding again, and didn't bother commenting on his offer to introduce her to an angel. Instead, she moved past him to the next fence post and squatted down to look at the sigils carved there.

"Uh, Sam, are these supposed to look like this?"

Frowning, he walked closer and peered over her shoulder. What the…there were several gouges in one of the wards. At first Sam wondered if it was just regular wear from the elements, but the exposed wood in the post was fresh. It didn't look to be from an animal, as the numerous scratches criss-crossed every which way, completely cutting through the spell work and neutralizing the ward.

Sam straightened in alarm. This looked deliberate. "We need to tell Dean."

Ellen's eyes widened at his tone, and she quickly stood up to follow him back to the cabins. Dean was with Jo on Bobby's porch, the young woman sitting on the stoop with a mug of coffee in her hands while Dean leaned against the railing of the ramp he'd built, body loose in a casually flirtatious manner. Sam refrained from shouting for his brother and alerting the rest of the camp to something being amiss.

Dean immediately straightened at his and Ellen's approach. "Done with the tour already?" he said with a shade of disappointment.

"You need to see something," Sam replied in a low voice, shooting Dean a meaningful look.

Dean quirked a questioning brow, but didn't voice his query. "Alright."

Jo looked at them in confusion as well, but also stood up to follow them back out to the fence line.

Sam wordlessly pointed to the vandalized sigil, and Dean crouched down to examine it.

After a long moment, he lifted a dark gaze to Sam's. "Any others?"

"I haven't checked." There was a lot of warding, and it would take a while to go over it all.

"What's going on?" Jo asked.

Dean stood up, expression hard.

"Those are protective sigils," Sam explained when his brother didn't answer. "And it's been damaged."

Jo's mouth turned down further. "What does that mean?"

"It means we've got a problem," Dean said. "You two go tell Bobby. Sam and I are gonna check the other wards."

As Ellen and Jo made their way back to the cabins, Sam and Dean split up, each taking a direction along the fence and checking the wards as they went. To Sam's relief, the rest of the fence posts were intact. Maybe he was making a big deal out of nothing.

But then he came upon a stump where one of the heavier duty sigils had been scorched into the flat top, and found that it had been systematically gouged out, too.

Sam's heart dropped into his stomach. There were layers upon layers of protection erected around the campgrounds, but it still worried him how much losing a few sigils might weaken the whole infrastructure. And they couldn't call Cas to come help them fix it, either.

A knot of dread was starting to form in Sam's gut, and after he completed his circuit, he hurried back to Bobby's cabin where the others were waiting.

"Well?" Bobby demanded as Sam and Dean entered at the same time.

"I found another one," Sam reported. "On the stump, the big sigil I think was for repelling the more powerful demons."

Dean let out a low growl and started to pace. "That makes three. The one behind the shed was also sabotaged. And it had to have been done from the inside," he added darkly.

"I can't believe someone in camp would betray us," Sam argued. "They know what the world out there is like; why would they destroy the only sanctuary we have?"

"Could it be demonic possession?" Ellen put in. "We've seen that before."

"The wards are supposed to prevent anything from crossing the perimeter," Dean replied a tad sharply. Sam knew it was only because his brother was upset and feeling threatened that their refuge may not be as safe as they'd thought.

"You have guards posted round the clock, right?" Jo asked. "Maybe they saw something."

"Unless it was one of them who's compromised," Dean rejoined.

Bobby heaved a sigh. "We'll have to call everyone in, one by one, do the proper tests. And then we're gonna have to start dishing out anti-possession tattoos, prison style."

Sam frowned in deep contemplation as Dean's and Bobby's muffled voices continued to discuss how they'd go about this.

"Actually," he spoke up. "If the warding that the angels installed wasn't foolproof against whatever this is, our tattoos might not be, either. We should test ourselves first."

Each of them visibly stiffened at the implications of that.

Dean ran a hand down his face. "Shit. Of all the times for Cas to be on a deadly mission."

Bobby wheeled over to his desk and pulled out a flask from the drawer. "Sam's right, better to be safe." He uncapped the container and knocked back a swig, then passed it to Sam.

Holy water had an odd taste to it, like there was a little extra oxygen infused into the H2O to give it an ozone tang. Sam wondered if that was the science behind it burning demons, even though it didn't have an effect on humans. He took a sip and handed the flask to Ellen, who took a drink next.

Sam was just starting to feel relieved that their paranoia had been unfounded when Jo took the container. But instead of immediately knocking back a drag, she froze, staring at the flask.

"Jo?" Dean prompted.

Her head whipped up, eyes suddenly blazing with fury, and she chucked the bottle at Dean's head. He yelped as it clipped him, holy water splattering across the floor.

"Jo!" Ellen shouted.

Jo lunged for a gun sitting on the nightstand, and Sam's heart seized. Both he and Dean leaped toward her at the same time, each one grabbing an arm to restrain her. She struggled for a split second before going limp and collapsing to the floor. Sam almost lost his balance at the abrupt change, but managed to catch himself. He stared in horror as a small black worm went slithering out of Jo's ear and escaped between the floorboards.

Ellen was nearly in tears as she dropped down beside her daughter. A trail of black goo was leaking from Jo's ear.

Sam and Dean exchanged a stupefied look. What the hell were they dealing with?


	3. Chapter 3

**Part III**

Castiel watched as the timer started counting down as soon as Balthazar had installed the battery in the cell phone. Time to get out of there.

"Merry Christmas, you bastards," Balthazar quipped as they headed back to the portal, only to pull up short the moment they emerged from the cleft.

A huge, hulking demon towered three stories above them, with crackled, pewter skin and brawny muscles. It had a bullish head with a flat snout and horns that curved down and up around its jaw line. For a moment no one moved. The demon lolled a lazy eye down at them, pupil contracting as it registered their intrusion.

"Oh, bloody hell," Balthazar murmured.

Castiel tensed. Angel blades would do little good against a demon this old and foul. It must have been making its way to the surface to pass through the Devil's Gate.

And now it was blocking their escape.

"Go!" Anna shouted, unleashing her grace animal with an explosion of bluish-white light. A lynx growled as it took form around her, fangs bared against the demon. Her red hair billowed in the ethereal static.

The demon's nostrils flared and it let out a bellow as it reared up to bring its massive, clawed hands slamming back down on the ground. Castiel dove to the side to avoid being smashed. The impact shuddered through the soil, but he still rolled into a crouch, his grace erupting around him.

Anna had held her ground, and now the demon snapped its gaping maw at her. She raked several claws down its face before darting aside to avoid a blow. Balthazar had ignited his grace animal as well, and now the three of them were blazing blue beacons in a ghastly landscape. In the distance, a cry of alarm went up.

Castiel slashed at the demon's flank, trying to get its beastly mass to move away from the Gate. It whipped around so fast that Castiel couldn't dodge getting sideswiped. Brute force slammed into his side, throwing him against the crags. He scrambled to get up.

Balthazar slapped his palms together in pantomime of prayer and stretched them above his head, channeling his grace fox into a stream that shot upward in an arc and then dove back down onto the demon's back. It roared and stumbled back. The portal sizzled as one leg stepped through it.

Castiel's heart dropped into his stomach. They had to make sure the creature was on _this_ side of the Devil's Gate when the bomb went off. Surging to his feet, Castiel charged straight at the demon. His panther let out a roar and went for the jugular, fangs sinking into tough flesh with a fizzle of electricity. With his human form, Castiel also clenched his fist and drove it into the demon's shoulder with a thunderous ripple.

Anna leaped up to attack the other side of the massive beast's neck. The demon reared back again and twisted in an attempt to throw them off. Castiel felt a split second of relief when it veered away from the portal, but then the demon surprised him by flinging itself at the nearest cliffside. A cry of pain tore from Castiel's throat as he was crushed between the rocks and the demon's brute strength. He fell to the ground, another cry echoing in his ears, and he saw Balthazar get trampled underfoot. Castiel tried to push himself up. The path to the portal was clear.

He raised his head, and spotted dozens of black shapes stampeding over the hills and converging toward their position. Balthazar was unmoving on the ground, and Anna was still clawing at the ancient demon.

Somewhere behind these rocks, a timer was counting down its last few seconds.

They weren't going to make it.

* * *

Gabriel clenched and unclenched his fists as he watched the portal simmer stagnantly. He hadn't expected it to take this long, but then, he also shouldn't have expected such a foray into Hell itself to be a walk in the park.

Hester approached from behind. "Gabriel, we should start now."

"We'll give them a little more time."

"It's been too long already," she pressed. "They might have been caught, or the bomb detonated early."

Gabriel resisted the urge to snap at her. It should have been him to take the bomb through and set it. Except, the might of his archangel grace would be needed to instigate sealing the Devil's Gate from this side. Which meant he'd had to send his soldiers into danger instead.

Gabriel had never been one to give orders in Heaven; he didn't like to command the way Michael and Raphael did, with angels snapping to attention like they were God's own generals.

Well, okay, technically that's what the archangels were. But they all were also the Heavenly Host, brothers and sisters, comrades in arms set with a noble and divine duty. They were family.

Or they had been, once. And Gabriel had allowed the corruption in Heaven to jade him to the point where he stopped caring. At least, that was what he'd told himself when he'd hidden among the pagan deities, relishing in decadence and debauchery and trying to fill the hole his severance from Heaven had left behind.

And then the Apocalypse had started. Gabriel had been wandering, as he'd done for centuries since leaving Heaven; happening upon Anna had been pure chance. And he'd witnessed his little sister, the spitfire of her garrison, grieve over the world as it fell, over a friend she'd thought had fallen in battle, a battle she'd led him into. Gabriel had watched secretly as Anna drew forth her angel blade and prepared to fall on her sword, too.

And he'd intervened.

From that moment forward, Gabriel had finally taken up the mantle of General, as was his right to bear, and vowed to protect as many members of his family as he could. He'd convinced Anna to resume the fight once more, that together they would uphold their duty to protect humanity, and they would search for others who still believed in that mission. On some level, Gabriel had always known that the lower angels looked up to him, maybe revered his cheeky attitude and jocular impudence toward the other two archangels with sticks up their asses. But he had never realized before just how much they were willing to follow him with the kind of loyalty and devotion Michael had always coveted but could never seem to attain—that born of love.

So yes, there were times when Gabriel had to send his men and women into battle. But they were also his brothers and sisters, and he would not sacrifice them the way Michael or Raphael would treat pawns in a game.

"Tell everyone to get into position and start channeling their grace," he said. "But no one ignites it until I give the order," he added sharply.

Hester gave a curt nod and moved away.

Gabriel's eyes remained fixed on the Devil's Gate. _Come on, guys_.

He sensed the members of his garrison lining up along the edge of the crater directly across from the portal. One by one, the energy of their grace began to glow in a halo around their forms, their spirit animals just under the surface yet not fully unleashed.

Gabriel waited.

The portal rippled, but instead of it being from a shockwave, Gabriel caught a glimpse of a clawed foot partially poking through the rift before it slipped back into Hell.

"Gabriel!" Hester hissed.

" _Not yet_."

"Gabriel!" Inias shouted in alarm.

He jerked his attention toward the sky where bursts of light were beginning to pepper the air like fireworks. Dread coiled around his heart as the first volleys started, comets of grace energy shooting down and exploding the ground around them.

Heaven didn't want the Devil's Gate closed.

"Target the portal!" Gabriel shouted, even as he spread his eagle's wings with a flash of gold. They'd need his grace to trigger the collapse, but at least the others could weaken the portal, and still give Castiel, Anna, and Balthazar time to come back through.

Gabriel completely transformed into his grace animal and took to the skies in rippling bands of shimmering gold, intercepting the attacking angels with a trumpeting shriek. He knocked two out of the air mid-flight and slashed his beak at a third, aiming for only debilitating hits and not fatal ones. Below, his garrison began to shoot their concentrated energy at the Devil's Gate.

Gabriel banked around and snapped his wings taut, sending out a wave of celestial force that slammed into the descending soldiers of Heaven before they could reach the ground. As he veered back, the portal spritzed, and Castiel, Anna, and Balthazar came tumbling through. A split second later, it flickered again, only this time with a hiss and sputter that made the edges buckle a fraction.

Gabriel's heart soared, and he pulled up and around into a hovering position over the Gate. Time to finish this once and for all. Focusing his grace, golden light suffused around him like a miniature sun, gathering intensity for that one final blow.

Yet before he could shoot the concentrated power into the portal, a beam of crackling copper energy shot down from Heaven and struck Gabriel in the shoulder. It seared through him, disrupting his gathering charge and unbalancing his flight. His wings flailed as he suddenly found himself plummeting, the earth rushing up to meet him. He crashed down like a meteor, sending showers of rock and soil into the air.

Pain radiated through him, and Gabriel quickly morphed back into his human form to hide his grace signature from Raphael's view. The bastard. Always was too cowardly for a face to face confrontation.

Gasping for breath, Gabriel crawled from his trench in time to see more of that electric bronze energy firing down from above. The next beam hit Daniel, who exploded into stardust. More cries filled the air as Heaven's angels descended in blazing bands of light to attack those still trying to close the portal. The last of the concentrated energy targeting the Devil's Gate cut off, along with their chance at destroying it.

Gabriel struggled to his feet, stumbling as fiery pain lanced through his shoulder.

"Retreat," he gasped, then louder. "Retreat!"

He let his grace explode again with a screech that echoed above the onslaught. His angels started to slip into the ether. Some of Heaven's soldiers gave chase, but Gabriel hoped he'd disoriented them enough in that last display that they'd be easily shaken.

He spun around, refusing to leave until he was sure every one of his people would escape. He spotted Castiel and Anna dragging Balthazar across the crater, Castiel brandishing his angel blade against some scavenger demons that hadn't been frightened away by the aerial battle. He was seconds from being overwhelmed.

Gabriel launched himself toward them and used his bare hands to rip the ravenous creatures off Castiel. Then he took hold of both Castiel and Balthazar and yanked them into the ether, with Anna keeping up.

None of Heaven's agents slipped in behind them, but Gabriel still planned to take a circuitous route back to their base. They had failed in their mission, with heavy casualties.

* * *

Dean handed Jo a cup of water. She took it with a mumbled thanks and shaky fingers, huddled on the floor with Ellen's arms wrapped protectively around her shoulders.

"Anyone ever seen anything like that?" he asked.

"No," Bobby replied. "But a lot of new, or should I say old, nasties have come out of that Devil's Gate since it opened."

"Well, it's obviously some kind of Khan worm," Dean said. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Which the anti-possession tattoos don't protect against," Ellen added tightly.

Jo shuddered, her complexion still pale after her ordeal. "I don't remember…I mean, looking back, there are a few gaps of blackouts. I just thought I was so exhausted and fell asleep."

Dean frowned. So it wasn't a full possession?

Bobby's wheelchair squeaked as he shifted. "So there's probably no way to determine when you picked it up."

Jo looked at her mom, expression full of horror at the implication. Ellen's lips pressed together into a bloodless line, and after a moment she shook her head.

"But why would it want to go after the wards?" Sam brought up. "If they didn't keep it out, why would it bother?"

Dean crossed his arms and tucked his fist under his chin as he thought back to yesterday when Ellen and Jo had arrived. Jo had gotten dizzy…right when she crossed the first line of warding at the gate.

"Jo almost collapsed when she entered the camp," he said. "So maybe the wards didn't keep it out, but they weakened it when you crossed over them."

Sam's brows rose sharply. "And it disfigured the wards either to escape or reassert full control."

Dean shrugged. "Best guess I got."

"All of which is academic at this point," Bobby interrupted. "We need to figure out how to track it down and kill it."

Dean's gut clenched. What if it had already found a new host? "We'll have to go back to our original plan of testing everyone first."

Again, he wished they could call Cas for help. Maybe the angel would know which protections would work against this thing. But Cas had his own problems to deal with, and this wasn't the first time the Winchesters had been in a hairy situation; they'd figure it out.

"How much holy water do we have?" Sam asked.

"Enough for an initial inspection, but if we have to do repeated ones…"

"Dean!" someone shouted from outside.

Dread started turning his stomach to knots as Dean hurried for the door, Sam right behind him. Keith and Ryan, two of their more capable men, each had a restraining arm on a guy named Jorge and were manhandling him forward.

"We found him hacking at one of the wards," Keith reported.

 _Shit_.

"Here." Bobby had wheeled out behind them and was now shoving the flask of holy water into Dean's hand.

He took it and descended the steps.

Jorge's eyes were wide and fearful. "Please," he blurted. "Please don't send me away. I would never—"

Dean held up a hand. "Just drink this." He held the container out.

Jorge's brows furrowed in confusion, but he nevertheless took the flask and lifted it to his lips. Dean watched him with a ruthless gaze as he gulped down some of the water.

"He's clean," Dean declared.

"Clean of what?" Ryan asked.

"I'll explain in a minute. You two next." Dean gestured for them to take the flask as well. They did, and neither had a reaction to the holy water. Dean didn't know whether to be relieved or not.

"Alright," he said, "round everybody up. We have an intruder. If you see anyone acting strangely, do _not_ shoot. Use holy water and nonlethal means to restrain them."

"Is it a demon?"

"We're not sure," Dean replied. "Whatever it is, it's not that strong. Now go." He turned back to Sam and Bobby as the men proceeded to follow his orders. "We're gonna need more holy water."

"Yeah," Bobby huffed resignedly, and spun his wheelchair around to head back inside his cabin. "I'll get my rosary."

"I'll get some water bottles from the mess," Sam said.

"I'll go with you," Ellen called, stepping outside.

Dean gave her a nod of thanks as she headed off with Sam. He went back inside the cabin to check on Jo. She'd gotten off the floor, but still looked rather shaken.

"How you doin'?" Dean asked.

She shook her head, expression pinching. "I'm so sorry I brought this thing here."

"Hey, no, it's not your fault." He reached out to lightly touch her arm. "None of us could have seen this coming." He hesitated. "You up to helping us stop it?"

A muscle in her cheek ticked, and she looked away for a moment. But then she took a deep breath and slowly lifted her chin. "Yeah, I'd like to fry this thing."

"Good," Bobby spoke up gruffly. "Because we ain't exactly got a lot of experienced hunters in this bunch." He raised the rosary dangling in one hand. "Let's do this."

They headed back outside where the members of camp were beginning to assemble, and Dean could see paranoia starting to take hold in some of their eyes. The last thing they needed was to turn on each other. Sam and Ellen were returning with arms full of water bottles, though, so they could get on with the testing soon enough.

"Ryan said a demon's infiltrated the camp," Risa said to Dean as he passed.

"Some kind of demon, though not one we've seen before," he replied. "First we make sure everyone's clean and then we explain the situation."

The good thing about Risa was she was good at taking orders. Wasn't bad with an automatic rifle, either.

Dean started going through a mental checklist of camp members, eyes peeled for signs of nervousness. The Khan worm had to know what they were up to.

"Make sure no one's at the perimeter!" he called. He'd be damned if he let this thing escape with one of them.

Dean only saw it in his peripheral vision, too fast and unexpected to do anything about—one of the men drew a gun, and pointed it at Dean.

The bullet never left the barrel, as Sam tackled the guy to the ground. Risa stepped in just as quickly, shooting him—Brian—with a taser. The prongs struck his chest, making his whole body jerk into a rigid spasm as electricity coursed through him. He opened his mouth and a high-pitched squeal rose up. Dean saw the worm frantically wriggling its way out of Brian's ear and onto the ground…where Sam was still laying after having knocked Brian down.

Dean didn't even have time to yell his brother's name before the worm rushed straight into Sam's ear.

Sam gave a minor twitch, and then his features smoothed of all expression. He slowly got to his feet, everything about his posture screaming an alien presence. Those who had weapons were suddenly aiming them at Sam.

"Hold your fire!" Dean shouted.

The creature inside Sam made his mouth crack into a grin. "That's right, you wouldn't want to shoot your brother."

"You get the hell out of him," Dean growled.

The demon sneered. "Sorry, but he's who I came for."

Dean stiffened. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I was sent to find Sam Winchester and deliver him to her." His face scrunched up in revulsion. "But the moment I entered your little camp, the wards significantly weakened me. No matter now. I'm going to leave, and you're going to let me."

Dean's hands clenched into fists. "Like hell."

The demon spread Sam's arms. "Or you could shoot your brother. But I don't think you have it in you."

Dean's jaw ticked, and he held himself perfectly still as Ellen and Jo moved in behind Sam with iron chains they'd grabbed from under the ramp of Bobby's cabin. Iron worked on a lot of monsters; maybe it'd work on this one, too.

The demon smirked, and started to take a step forward when they lunged, flinging the chain around his torso and yanking hard. Dean surged forward and grabbed one of Sam's arms as he tried to fight them off. In seconds, they had dragged him to the ground and pinned him.

"Who were you taking my brother to?" Dean demanded.

The demon merely hissed and spat at him, bucking with renewed fervor.

"Seemed like electrocution did the trick," Bobby spoke up.

Dean gritted his teeth at that, but had to admit the older hunter was right.

"Risa, that taser recharged?"

"Yes."

Dean held out his hand for it. "Sorry, Sammy," he said before stabbing his brother in the side with the charged prongs. Sam threw his head back and screamed, along with that same shrill shriek. Dean didn't let go, even though it made every fiber in his being scream along with his little brother.

The worm finally slithered out of Sam's ear, a viscous, smoking slug. Ellen and Jo jumped back, while Dean simply stood up and drew his gun. He aimed it at the Khan worm and pulled the trigger, blasting it to smithereens for good measure.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part IV**

Castiel stood in the corner of the infirmary, eyes fixed on Balthazar who was laying on one of the cots. Hael was kneeling on the floor beside him, her hands folded over each other and hovering above his chest. An opalescent shimmer rippled out from her fingertips into a silhouette of a butterfly's wings. They fanned out and floated down to settle over Balthazar's sternum, pulsing with pearly energy that infused healing into her patient. His lax face in unconsciousness glowed white in the halo.

Anna sat by Balthazar's other side. For all her spats with the insouciant angel, she'd come to care for him. Everyone in their small cohort had become part of this tight-knit family unit over the weeks and months in hiding and fighting against the Apocalypse.

And Castiel felt the pain and anguish of their loss as a personal failure.

He watched the aura of Hael's grace coruscate in prismatic bands, interacting directly with Balthazar's wounded essence in a way that only a healer's could without siphoning off her own energy. Not that healing wasn't straining, especially with so many wounded.

She moved one hand up to Balthazar's forehead, and a smaller glistering butterfly fluttered down across his brow. His facial muscles twitched, perhaps in discomfort.

After several long moments, Hael finally pulled back, her grace animal folding back in with a receding of her light. Castiel heard her tell Anna that Balthazar would be all right. Anna gave a nod of acknowledgement, and Hael stood to go see to someone else. She was stretched thin tending to them all.

Castiel tried to stay out of the way, one arm wrapped stiffly across bruised ribs. He'd survive. Daniel and Edina had fallen in the battle. Josiah was gravely wounded and it was unclear if he would make it. Castiel closed his eyes against a swell of grief.

"Castiel, have you been treated yet?"

He opened his eyes to find Gabriel standing next to him. The archangel had suffered injuries like the rest of them, and had one arm bound securely in a sling.

"My wounds aren't severe," he replied. "They can wait."

Gabriel flicked a glance over the various cuts and scratches Castiel felt stinging along his face and arms from the scavenger demons, then narrowed his eyes pointedly at the way Castiel was holding his ribcage.

"Mhm-hm. Come on. You don't want those getting infected. Who knows what nastiness those demon scum were carrying." The archangel raised his good arm to place a hand on Castiel's shoulder and started to guide him out of the infirmary.

"Gabriel, you're injured," Castiel protested.

"Couldn't let you guys outdo me," he quipped. "Besides, with one good arm from each of us, we can at least get these cleaned up."

Castiel sighed as he let himself be led down the passage and to a small room in the back of the underground bunker, one of their tranquil nooks with comfortable furniture, a running water fountain of soothing burbles, and a skylight that always looked up at the stars. Even angels needed a sanctuary to rest and recharge.

"Sit," Gabriel directed, and went to an end table where he knelt down to grab a med kit from its cupboard.

Castiel grimaced as he carefully lowered himself onto the sofa. Shrugging off his jacket was equally unpleasant, but he gritted his teeth and managed. The shirt was another matter, and pulling it up over his head had him choking on a pained grunt.

"Nice palette," Gabriel commented, and Castiel glanced down at the starbursts of black and puce decorating his chest.

Gabriel soaked a clean cloth in the fountain of holy water, squeezing the excess out as best he could with one hand before applying it.

Castiel winced, and silently endured the next several minutes of Gabriel cleaning out the various cuts and slashes made from beastly claws. The holy water stung in the raw fissures of flesh, but only for a bit. Once any demonic residue was neutralized, the pain receded to a dull throb that would heal with time.

"I'm sorry," Castiel said quietly. "I should have planned better, should have gotten us out of there sooner so you would have had time to close the Gate."

Gabriel stilled in his ministrations, expression turning stern. "That wasn't your fault."

"I was leading the mission," he pressed. "It was my responsibility, and I failed."

"You didn't fail. The bomb went off."

"But it didn't destroy the portal."

"And that was my task," Gabriel said a tad sharply. "One I knew Heaven would do everything in its power to stop. It was a long-shot from the start."

Castiel looked away. He knew that. And yet, a part of him had started desperately hoping that he'd be able to return and tell Sam and Dean they'd succeeded. Plus, he was the one who had backed Balthazar's crazy idea. And he'd almost lost his friend because of it.

"Castiel- Cas," Gabriel said, tone softening. "We all knew the danger going in. And you _did_ succeed. That entire area of Hell near the portal would have been decimated, which means it will be a while before any more demons come through to Earth. That is a win, even if it's a small one." He settled a hand on Castiel's shoulder. "You did good, and I'm proud of all of you."

Castiel let out a shuddering breath, but bowed his head in acceptance.

Gabriel packed up the med kit and set it aside. "I'll send Muriel in to wrap your ribs," he said, heading for the open door. He paused in the threshold. "And, we'll have a memorial once everyone's rested up."

Castiel's throat tightened. Meaning once they knew whether they would be grieving Josiah along with Daniel and Edina.

Gabriel left, and Castiel leaned back against the sofa cushions to gaze up at the stars. The window in the pocket dimension was located somewhere above the atmosphere in orbit around the planet so that the view changed every night, cycling through the celestial sphere in its season. At the moment, it was centered on the same constellations Sam and Dean would be looking at from the continental United States.

Castiel wanted to check on them, tell them what happened, though he felt a pang in his heart at the thought of their disappointment. They would quickly push it aside, though, and soldier on; Castiel had witnessed their stubborn determination often enough. And he would soldier on as well.

But for now, he was exhausted. After a moment, Castiel reached for a book off the lower shelf, one whose spine was cracked and peeling from repeated use. He opened to the first page. He would take the time to rest and heal, for tomorrow would bring a new fight, as it inevitably always did.

* * *

Sam woke with a muffled groan, every single muscle feeling rigid and locked. Moving hurt, but so did lying still. He forced his eyes open, braced for finding himself in a bad situation requiring some fast thinking and desperate fighting. But what he found was the familiar rings and knots in the wood panels of his and Dean's cabin at Camp Chitaqua.

"Hey," his brother's soft voice broke through the lingering haze.

Sam squinted against the light of a lantern in the corner, but his vision was clearing, and he spotted Dean sitting in a wooden chair by Sam's bunk. "What happened?"

"We, uh, had to electrocute you."

Sam blinked dubiously. "What?"

Dean's jaw was tight and his hands were clasped tensely across his legs. "The Khan worm got to you. After you saved my life. Which, thanks."

Sam frowned and tried to remember. He could picture someone drawing a gun on Dean, and tackling them to the ground before they could shoot, as Dean was obviously okay. But everything after that was a blank.

He shot Dean a questioning look to fill him in, but his heart dropped into his stomach at the obvious distress his brother couldn't keep off his face.

"Dean," he gasped. "Did I hurt someone?" _Oh god, no…_

Dean straightened. "No. No, no one got hurt. Aside from you getting barbecued. You feel okay? All your brain cells intact?"

Sam pushed himself upright to prove he was fine, even though it hurt to do so. "I'm fine. Dean, what's wrong?"

His brother looked away, hands wringing.

"Just _tell me_."

If he hadn't hurt anyone, why was Dean so upset? Had the Khan worm gotten to someone else? Had it gotten away?

"It, uh, said some things, before we fried it," Dean started.

Okay, so it was dead. That was good. Sam waited, raising his eyebrows impatiently.

"It said it came here for you."

Sam quirked a confused look at his brother. "Me? Why?"

Dean's mouth was stern, but his eyes betrayed his fear. "I don't know."

Sam felt as though all the oxygen got sucked out of his lungs as the implication sank in.

"We figure it either heard the rumors about a hunter's camp and hitched a ride with Jo to get here," Dean went on. "Or when it infected her, it maybe realized she knew us and decided to hang around hoping we'd run into each other."

Sam vaguely nodded along, though his mind wasn't really processing that part. "Do…" He swallowed. "Do you think it has to do with…Yellow Eyes and- and the demon blood?"

A muscle in Dean's jaw ticked and he looked away for a moment. They'd never learned why the Yellow-Eyed demon had snuck into Sam's nursery that night and fed him demon blood, only that it had changed their lives forever. They'd become hunters. Dad had turned into a single-minded general bent on one thing only—hunting down the demon that had killed their mom.

And John Winchester had braced himself—and Dean—for the possibility that Sam would become a monster they'd have to put down as well. There'd been times when Sam had been terrified by the psychic visions and inexplicable powers he'd developed for a time. But he hadn't had them in over a year. And Yellow Eyes was dead. So why would demons be after him now?

Dean turned back to him, lifting a staunch jaw. "Doesn't matter. I won't let those bastards take you."

Sam dropped his gaze. He believed his brother would do everything in his power to keep that promise. But deep down, he was afraid. Afraid of what this meant…afraid of past pain resurfacing…

Afraid of himself.

Dean patted his knee and stood up. "Come on, let's get some grub."

Sam rose to follow, stumbling as his legs needed a second to unlock their joints. He wordlessly followed his brother outside and toward the mess where voices could be heard inside. He cast his gaze around the perimeter, the gloaming twilight tranquil in its silence save for crickets beginning their nocturnal song. They were safe, for the time being; if the Khan worm was dead, it hadn't been able to tell anyone else where to find Sam Winchester.

But that didn't relieve his growing trepidation at the terrifying question: what would come next?

…

NEXT TIME

"I want to come," Sam spoke up.

"Uh, Sam, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go looking for the guys _gunning_ for you," Dean said.

"Dean's right," Castiel put in. "And I'll be able to find information faster on my own."

Sam's jaw tightened. "This is my life, and I'm tired of feeling like some… _unclean_ thing. A demon ruined our lives, Dean. And now they're coming back to use me as some sort of pawn in a war I don't even understand?" He shook his head, expression pinching with anguish. "I deserve to know why."


End file.
